


then he waddled away

by Anonymous



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23310457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: carlando *clenches fist*
Relationships: Lando Norris/Carlos Sainz Jr
Comments: 16
Kudos: 83
Collections: Anonymous





	then he waddled away

Something fishy was going on.

Carlos knew Lando was obsessed with his laptop, bringing the stupid device with him everywhere he went, but never to this extent.

He was fine with the way Lando hugged the computer to his chest and gawked at him when he'd walked in on the younger speedily typing away on the keyboard one afternoon, chalking the weird behaviour up to Lando simply not getting enough sleep again. Sleep deprivation did things to people, unfathomable things, and Lando being a first-year university student was basically asking for the universe to strip him of his consistent sleep schedule.

The second time Lando reacted like a lioness protecting her cub, Carlos wasn't in the best mood. He was going to be on campus until that evening, having to spend hours at the lab with a group of undergraduates, and didn't know whether he would return home for dinner. Lando, the forgetful idiot he was, tended to forget to eat in the absence of his human reminder.

A loving soul who refused to have his boyfriend starve simply because said boyfriend was pathetic at taking care of himself, Carlos prepared sandwiches in advance and stuck them in the microwave.

"Lando!" Carlos yelled, wiping down the counters. Silence greeted him and he shouted once more, raising his voice by several decibels. "Oi, Lando!"

As expected, nobody responded. Slightly frustrated since he was already running late, Carlos tossed the cloth into the sink and stormed up the stairs. He heard Lando's familiar giggles from within the master bedroom and the gleeful sound elicited an eye-roll from him. Without warning, Carlos pushed the door open.

"Lando, I was calling—"

"Can't you knock?!" Lando exclaimed, obviously startled.

Carlos took in the sight of Lando clinging on to his laptop like it was his lifeline.

"What are you doing?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"I was"—Lando cleared his throat awkwardly—"uh, watching, uh, porn. I was watching porn."

_Lies._

"I know what you look like when you're excited, you are lying."

"Carlos!" Lando squeaked. Carlos would be proud at how he'd managed to turn Lando into a tomato in a matter of seconds if he didn't have to leave the house five minutes ago.

"I will deal with you later," he said in a threatening tone. "I made sandwiches, they're in the microwave. And please, don't choke on the lettuce."

Lando groaned and threw a pillow at him. "That was _one_ time!"

Carlos didn't think much of it. He shrugged and told Lando that _the sandwiches had better disappear by dinnertime or else_. As he tapped along to the beat of Lady Gaga's latest single in his car on his way to campus, he remembered Lando's deer-in-the-headlights facial expression and wondered what the hell that was all about.

Too bad the driver behind him grew impatient and honked his horn like someone was holding him at gunpoint, promptly throwing the thought out of the window. _The light just turned green, puta!_

Nobody tell his mother that he deliberately switched off the engine and pretended it died.

Anyway, Carlos had more important stuff on his plate that demanded his care; Pierre getting his grimy hands on his Netflix password, his sister flying out to England to beat him to a pulp for withholding valuable information regarding his current relationship status, his supervisor riding his ass to finish the initial draft for his master's thesis, and whatnot.

Besides, he was probably overthinking. Maybe it was his subconscious telling him that he was neglecting his boyfriend duties, that he was missing Lando more than he's letting on. They were barely in each other's presence lately, occupied with their respective academic responsibilities. Sure, they had meals together when they could and slept in the same bed but they weren't communicating like they used to.

Yeah, that's definitely it. All he had to do was to give Lando the attention he deserved, the affection he craved, and the appreciation he rightfully earned. Then, everything would be fine.

Right?

//

"Why do you look at me like I'm going to attack you?" Carlos was standing in the doorway, fingers still encircling the door knob.

He arrived home not long ago, shoulders stiff and neck aching after hunching over a microscope for hours, and was confused by the darkness that engulfed him downstairs. Not even the lights in the kitchen were on.

Lando always left the lights on, claiming he didn't want the ghosts to bump into the cabinets and go _ow!_ in the middle of the night. (It's complete bullshit, their neighbour's cat previously broke in and somehow managed to hide itself in the cupboards. Carlos was awoken by Lando screaming at the top of his lungs when he reached for his box of Weetabix, only to yank on the cat's tail and send it screeching.)

"No reason." Lando tried to be discreet as he moved his hand behind his back.

Carlos caught him, dramatically pointing at accusing finger at the younger. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing."

Lying was not Lando's forte, his habit of breaking eye contact and chewing on his bottom lip excessively exposed his intentions to omit the truth without fail.

"You were watching porn?" Carlos feigned innocence, dropping his hand to his side.

Lando, sweet little Lando, believed him hook, line, and sinker.

"Yeah, really good porn!" Lando nodded vigorously, shuffling around on the Hästens mattress. He was sitting cross-legged, clad in the Cat Woman pyjamas Carlos bought him as a joke.

 _Cabrón isn't even aware that he is staring at the wall_ , mused Carlos, _I am in love with a fool._

The fact that Lando refused to turn his head in Carlos' direction made it easier for him to run into the room and launch himself at Lando, tackling the distracted other with a loud cry. The bed bounced sturdily beneath their weight as Carlos pinned Lando's arms above his head and straddled him, effectively trapping him underneath him.

Lando squirmed uneasily, his cheeks flushed. "You're heavy."

"That is not what you said this morning," Carlos replied smoothly. He did release Lando from his grip though, bending at the waist to brush his lips against his boyfriend's forehead apologetically. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No." Lando smiled shyly at Carlos. He placed his hands on Carlos' hips tentatively. "I missed you today."

"Missed you too, _mi vida._ " He whispered the words like it was a promise meant exclusively for Lando's ears, sealing it with a kiss. It was soft, intimate.

"Carlos?" Lando mumbled weakly into the kiss.

"Hmm?"

Before Carlos could count to three in Spanish, however, Lando had shoved him off and retrieved his laptop that the pillow helpfully concealed. Mad cackles reverberated around the house as Lando sprinted down the hallway and into the study, locking the door afterward. Flat on his back, Carlos swore vehemently.

_Forgive me, mama, but I will sin tomorrow._

("Carlos? Where's my share?"

Lando frowned at the empty KFC bucket.

"Mrs. Brown's dogs enjoyed them. You have Weetabix, they have nothing.")

//

It happened again.

And again.

And again.

And, for fuck's sake, again.

Carlos had lost count of the number of times he'd entered a room and Lando acted as if he wanted to physically fuse with his laptop. The younger would jump and widen his eyes to the size of saucers, then angle his screen away from Carlos' line of sight. It was so... so... 

Daniil suggested that he "hack" Lando's laptop. Carlos stared at him incredulously.

"It works, I tried it before," Daniil explained. He patted Carlos twice on the shoulder, gave the latter's forearm a squeeze, and ambled out of the lab like nothing happened. Fucker didn't even bother to turn off his Bunsen burner.

 _Before?_ Carlos mouthed, furrowing his eyebrows. Was he friends with a criminal?

It might have slipped Carlos' mind that his sister was an expert at holding grudges. He truly regretted not confiding in her when he first started dating Lando seven months ago. Every time he alluded to Lando, the apple of his eye, love of his life, pain in his ass (not literally), he could imagine her snarling at him.

(She adored Lando, she just hated Carlos for not re-introducing him as his boyfriend to their family sooner.)

Meh, it was fine. He had two sisters.

Damn it, Ana.

Whatever, Carlos was fully capable of handling this problem on his own.

//

"Lando?" Carlos kept his tone quiet as he slithered back into bed, unwilling to disturb the peaceful atmosphere.

He'd gone shopping for groceries when he realized the fridge was getting too empty for his liking, stocking up on meat and vegetables as well as Lando's favourite brand of milk. The younger was extremely picky with his choice of dairy, a part of him that Carlos found endearing. To him, cows were cows. He often stated so, purely to rile Lando up.

His boyfriend remained fast asleep, oblivious to Carlos caressing his hair as he listened to his slow breathing with the fondest of smiles on his face. Lando's boyish features were relaxed, his lips slightly parted and eyelids fluttering with each tender stroke to his skin.

"Are you dreaming, _mi corazón_?"

Lando emitted snuffling noises that tugged on Carlos' heartstrings and the older gently hushed him, sliding his hand downward to rest below Lando's ear.

"Shh, I am here. You're safe, Lando," Carlos murmured, tone dripping with a deluge of love and assurance. As to why he uttered those exact phrases, he had no clue. The pristine walls of their bedroom shielded them from the outside world and Lando was sleeping soundly in their bed, he needn't worry. Yet, he wrapped an arm around Lando's frame and shifted in his spot to tuck the younger's head under his chin.

Carlos sighed, contented. How the hell did he end up hitting the relationship jackpot?

He was _so_ gay for this milk-drinking, meme-obsessed dude. Capitalizing the _homo_ in _homo sapien_ kind of gay. Willing to sail the Seven Seas for him kind of gay. Wanting to build a future together kind of gay, if he dared to say so.

("I think... I think Lando is it. You know, the one."

Pierre hummed. "Yeah?" He shot Carlos an indecipherable look. "He's good to you, for you. If you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thanks." Carlos swallowed dryly, and they basked in the essence of revelation for a bit.)

Nuzzling Lando's nose, Carlos made his feelings known. " _Te amo,_ Lando."

(Carlos did see Lando's laptop on the nightstand when he climbed out of bed that morning, the charger plugged in and the light on the Bluetooth mouse flashing red.

He ignored them, only touching the mouse to replace the dying batteries.)

//

Carlos was skimming through a journal article on jellyfish stings when Lando came bounding down the stairs with his laptop, nearly falling on his ass owing to the fact that he was wearing socks.

"Be careful, _cabrón_ ," was Carlos' monotonous response to Lando's surprised yelp.

"Did you wax the floor?"

The question was so ridiculous that Carlos had to pause and just, absorb it. Him? Waxing the floor? He barely hoovered.

He scoffed. "Did I wax the floor? Seriously, Lando?"

"What? It's a legitimate query!"

"Ooo," Carlos teased, grinning as he looked up from the stack of papers in his lap. "Using your big boy words, ey?"

Lando blushed, glaring at the older. "Shut up."

Carlos chuckled, wisely refraining from commenting further. He redirected his gaze to the lengthy paragraphs printed on the crumpled sheets, ready to delve into them and dissect the units of sentences when Lando approached the sofa and cast a shadow over him.

"Bruh, I cannot see." 

He attempted to nudge Lando aside with his foot. Not only did it not work, Lando proceeded to step on his toes.

" _Mierda!_ What are you doing?!"

"I have something to show you," Lando announced, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. Tuning out Carlos' _where is your lip balm_ , he plopped his laptop down atop the papers and jabbed a forefinger at the screen. "This, is what I've been up to."

Carlos was, for lack of a better word, bewildered as fuck.

"What?"

"Every time you came into the room and I was jumpy, I was playing this," Lando elaborated.

Carlos continued to gape at the screen. "But..."

"Did I break you? Already? This is why I didn't want to you to find out!"

Hey, it wasn't Carlos' fault that he was speaking in monosyllables. There he was, minding his own business when boom, Lando dropped a bombshell on him out of nowhere.

"Remember when they shut it down and you cried for days?" Lando was talking, unaware that Carlos was registering none of it. "This is a remake, George was the one who sent me the link. I thought it'd be a lame knock-off but it's exactly like the one we played."

Carlos held up a shaky hand. Lando immediately clasped it in his, intertwining their fingers.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I can have my furry pets again?" Carlos' voice was feeble, much to Lando's amusement.

"Mhm, you can recreate Rosa."

The older nodded with grim determination. "Give me my laptop, fuck my thesis."

Lando laughed so hard, he cried.

//

"What server?"

"Deep Freeze."

"Okay. What is your name?"

"Milkboi, spelled with an 'I'."

"Really?"

//

**Author's Note:**

> wasn't that anticlimactic HAHAHAHA thanks for reading :*


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